Advanced Pavement Design: Finite Element Modeling for Rigid Pavement Joints, Report 3: Model Simplification and Application; Final rept

摘要

A rational, three-dimensional (3D) finite element technique was applied to model the structural response of the jointed concrete airport pavement system. Modeling features include explicit 3D modeling of the slab continua, load transfer capability at the joint, explicit 3D modeling of the base course continua, load transfer capability across the cracks in the base course, and contact interaction between the slabs and base course. The results of these models were simplified for incorporation into concrete pavement design applications. A set of joint response algorithms was developed that provides a complete system for relating commonly used deflection- and stress-based metrics of joint response to a dimensionless quantity that can be used to establish joint properties for finite element calculations. They may be readily implemented in personal computer spreadsheets or calculated by hand using an electronic calculator. Multivariate statistical analysis techniques were applied to increase understanding of the contribution of the input variables to variability of load transfer estimates and the sensitivity of the model to changes in input variables.